BLAH

A LOOK BACK AT RUMBLES PAST

The Royal Rumble is my favorite pay-per-view of the year. There, I've said it.

This is the show that basically closes out the previous year and starts the
build towards the next one - which begins as Wrestlemania comes to a close in
late March or early April depending on the year. Forget Wrestlemania for just
a moment though, and its claim that it's where stars are born. Stars are
showcased at Mania. Stars are born in the Rumble.

Battle royals throughout the 1980's were generally excuses to have a bunch of
guys eliminated by Andre The Giant to prove how strong and unbeatable he was.
Every once in awhile they'd hold other battle royals to showcase young and
upcoming stars, but for the most part the battle royals accomplished little
in moving storylines.

That all changed in 1988 when the WWF decided to try something different.

The first Royal Rumble was held in Hamilton, Ontario which is just up the
road about 5 hours from where I live. Unlike the others that would follow,
this was the only Royal Rumble that was held on television instead of pay-per-
view. This was a special three hour show, which Vince put opposite the NWA's
Bunkhouse Stampede. Of course, it would come back to bite him when the NWA
countered Wrestlemania IV with Clash Of The Champions but that's neither here
nor there.

This edition of the Royal Rumble was not largely based on the Rumble, but
rather the main event of The Islanders against The Young Stallions in a two
out of three falls contest. Alright, so that's not particularly exciting. In
fact, the match was atrocious and ended when the referee decided Paul Roma
had taken enough of a beating for one day and stopped the match.

The Rumble itself was interesting in that instead of your standard Battle
Royal, a fresh man would enter the ring every two minutes. Obviously, the
later you drew in the match, the better your odds were of winning because you
weren't tired.

The big news coming out of this one was Hacksaw Jim Duggan managing to
outlast Dino Bravo and One Man Gang despite a double team effort to win the
first ever Royal Rumble and send the fans home happy. It was also the
shortest Rumble ever at around 35 minutes, due to the fact only 20 men were
entered instead of the 30 we're used to today.

On the undercard, Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude via disqualification in
an okay match with a goofy finish. Also, The Jumping Bomb Angels won back the
WWF Women's Tag-Team Titles from Judy Martin and Leilani Kai in a two out of
three falls match that DIDN'T suck. If you want to see some good women's
wrestling, this is it! All in all this was a decent showing for the first
Rumble, and definitely some top quality stuff that aired on free TV at the
time.

Shuffling ahead to 1989, the WWF decided that this gimmick match was such a
success it warranted a sequel. So in January of that year, that's exactly
what we got.

Unlike the first part, the Rumble was clearly the focus of this show. There
were a lot of stars involved, including World Champion Randy Savage, Hulk
Hogan, and Andre The Giant. While there was nothing on the line, the fans
were deeply interested in what could go down in a match like this. What
resulted was an absolutely wild affair.

Ax and Smash drew #1 and #2 to the shock of a lot of fans, and didn't
hesitate tearing into eachother despite being a unit. Andre The Giant drew #3
which was awfully early for a man who'd won so many battle royals earlier in
his life. This time he wouldn't come out with the win however, as Jake
Roberts used Andre's fear of snakes against him, and had Andre eliminate
himself when he appeared with Damien. Hulk Hogan eliminated his friend Randy
Savage when Savage was tied up with Bad News Brown on the ropes. Savage
wasn't overly thrilled, but managed to keep his cool for a few weeks, until
he exploded to set up Wrestlemania V. Hulk Hogan got dumped as well shortly
after to the shock of the fans at home via the Twin Towers. With no real big
names remaining, Big John Studd took home the win in rather anticlimactic
fashion.

Other matches included a very good brawl featuring Haku defeating Harley Race
to retain his crown. Rockin' Robin hung on to her WWF Women's Title after
defeating Judy Martin. The opening match was a decent 6-man tag which saw Jim
Duggan team with the Hart Foundation against the hated Rougeau Brothers and
Dino Bravo.

The show was over, but the fans wanted more. The Rumble was now one of the
top gimmick matches the WWF had. The WWF had to make a decision whether to
burn it into the ground and make a whole lot of money in one shot, as they've
been tempted to and done with so many other gimmicks (IE: table matches,
ladder matches, etc.) or continue to keep this a special once per year
affair. They opted to go with the latter, which wound up being a very smart
move business wise.

The third edition of the rumble took place in Orlando, Florida. Once again,
the Rumble managed to draw the main event slot of the show, and why not? This
one was even more star studded than the previous editions, including names
like Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Roddy Piper, Andre The Giant,
The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, and Curt Hennig. Hennig managed to draw the
#30 slot - and was actually booked to win this match as had been reported via
dirtsheets weeks earlier. Hulk Hogan however had other ideas and suggested to
Vince he walk out the victor. Vince agreed, which is strange considering
Hogan was the champ at this point and the victory would do nothing for him.

The match was one of the better Rumbles we've seen with a ton of hot action.
Warrior and Hogan went toe to toe at one point and the fans erupted - setting
the stage for the infamous Wrestlemania VI. Other notable moments include
Dusty Rhodes tossing out the former World Champion Randy Savage, and Ted
DiBiase managing to last about 50 minutes in the rumble, despite drawing the
#1 slot.

On the undercard, Big Bossman took a DQ loss to Jim Duggan after beating him
with the nightstick. Workrate fans will be pleased to hear that this match
was not a terrible affair - and certainly watchable. Former NWA World
Champion Ron Garvin defeated Greg Valentine with the Sharpshooter in a
submissions only match. The Genius and Brutus Beefcake battled to a no
contest following a referee bump, where Genius managed to avoid receiving a
haircut thanks to an assist from Mr. Perfect. And the opening contest laid
witness to a horrid Bushwhackers / Rougeau Brothers match, which is largely
(and thankfully) forgettable.

The 1991 Royal Rumble is a show that's rarely talked about, and with good
reason. Vince McMahon decided in the weeks leading up to the show to
capitalize on the Gulf War, turning Sgt. Slaughter heel and setting him up
for a match with the Ultimate Warrior. Nevermind that Slaughter hadn't been a
serious main eventer in years, if ever - the angle was completely tasteless,
and fans responded VERY negatively. So would Vince accept the fact he'd been
wrong, or ignore the fans in order to prove himself right? This is Vince
we're talking about...

With help from Randy Savage, due to his issues with Warrior, Sgt. Slaughter
captured the World Title absolutely shocking fans around the country. The
audience knew a screwjob when they were on the receiving end and chanted
bullshit for minutes on end before the WWF moved ahead to the rest of the
card.

In order to keep the fans happy, Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble for a second
year in a row. He spent the better part of his 20 minutes in the ring doing
battle with Jimmy Hart's gang of cronies, before finally taking out Brian
Knobbs and Earthquake to finish it off. Not much else noteworthy happened -
although Rick Martel established the longevity record by lasting 53 minutes.

Virgil and Virgil finally met face to face in the ring, as Dusty and Dustin
Rhodes took on the team of Ted DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase got the easy win
over Rhodes. However, after the match, DiBiase berated Virgil for screwing up
a spot earlier in the match, and Virgil finally took all the abuse he could
and clocked him! That would end their long association, and lead to
SummerSlam 1991 where Virgil won the Million Dollar Belt. The Big Bossman
continued his string of good Royal Rumble singles matches with lousy
opoonents, by defeating The Barbarian. The Mountie, complete with shock
stick, squashed The Brooklyn Brawler in a rare pay-per-view appearance. The
opening match was a REALLY hot tag-team affair with The Rockers going over
The New Orient Express, complete with plenty of nearfalls and fast action.
Excellent, even by the standards of today!

Tuesday In Texas took place five days after the Survivor Series in the winter
of 1991. Undertaker had cheated to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title from
Hulk Hogan with the help of a steel chair from Ric Flair. In the rematch,
Hogan cheated to regain the title. Jack Tunney however was not impressed with
his actions, and stripped the title. How would the title be filled from its
vacancy? The Royal Rumble!

Royal Rumble 1992 was set and ready to become the biggest Rumble of all time.
It did not fail! Every big name in the WWF was entered to win the top prize.
The first three alone have all been contenders, if not champs at one time -
with the British Bulldog, Ted DiBiase, and Ric Flair drawing those spots. The
rumble was a truly exciting and spectacular display of athleticism as all
were giving 100% on this night.

The final four came down to Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Sid Vicious.
Savage got dumped by Sid, while Flair and Hogan fought on the other side. Sid
used this to his advantage, blindsided his friend Hulk, and eliminated him.
Hulk Hogan could not believe this, and literally threw a tantrum at ringside.
When the referees did nothing, Hulk grabbed hold of Sid, and Flair took the
cheap route, shoving Sid from behind and winning the rumble.

Post match something occurred that was VERY shocking. While Hogan continued
his fit, even calling Sid out continuously in the ring while looking like he
was going to cry, the fans rallied like MAD behind Sid. Hogan was being
exposed rapidly as a crybaby who couldn't accept defeat. And the fans were
right - Hogan was eliminated cleanly and there are no friends in the Royal
Rumble. It also didn't help he aided the hated Flair on to victory.

The WWF, rather than take a chance of building Sid as the babyface against
the whining Hogan (the type of character later perfected by Bret Hart), the
WWF turned Sid full heel leading to Wrestlemania XIII.

Flair meanwhile whooped it up with Bobby Heenan and Mr. Perfect claiming they
knew all along he was walking out with the gold. This is the most memorable
rumble of all time from the perspective of most fans who have seen this show.

Other matches that night included The Natural Disasters retaining the WWF
World Tag-Team Titles against the Legion Of Doom via countout. The Beverly
Brothers defeated The Bushwhackers in another Bushwhacker "classic". Roddy
Piper won his only piece of WWF gold, by defeating The Mountie to take the
Intercontinental Title in what was more or less a squash to set up Roddy vs.
Bret Hart at Wrestlemania. And the opener saw The New Foundation defeat The
Orient Express in a very solid outing.

Sacramento, California - the home of the 1993 Royal Rumble! For the first
time since it started, Vince decided something big should be on the line in
this very special battle royal. So it was decided that the winner would
receive the World Title shot at Wrestlemania.

Unfortunately for last year's winner, Ric Flair AGAIN had the poor luck of
drawing early - this time grabbing the #1 slot. Bob Backlund got #2, which
really didn't appear to be overly important when the rumble started.

The talent this year was really watered down from the hot edition the
previous year had given us. Randy Savage, Yokozuna, and The Undertaker were
pretty much the only big names who had a chance at walking away with a win.
Bob Backlund did establish the longevity record once again by lasting well
over an hour, and finished third. Randy Savage made the absolute dumbest move
of his career in this match by hitting the Big Elbow on Yokozuna - and going
for a pin. It would cost him BIG as Yokozuna recovered and tossed Savage,
winning the right to go on and compete in the main event at Wrestlemania
against Bret Hart.

Razor Ramon works himself into the highest position he'd achieve during his
WWF run - by getting a World Title shot against Bret Hart. The two styles as
expected did not clash and delivered a very solid match, if a little
forgettable. The Big Bossman took a hard loss to Bam Bam Bigelow courtesy the
Flying Headbutt. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty faced off in part one of
their feud for the WWF Intercontinental - resulting in Michaels retaining the
gold. The opening match saw the debut of Rick and Scott Steiner in the WWF as
they took apart the Beverly Brothers.

The WWF kept their new tradition alive with the title shot at Wrestlemania up
for grabs during the 1994 edition of the Rumble. However, this show is far
more notable for the World Title match that preceeded it.

Yokozuna went to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Title against The
Undertaker in a casket match. No problems there, although chances of it being
at least a *** affair aren't very likely. Undertaker appeared to have the
match at hand, when Crush, Great Kabuki, Genichiru Tenryu, Bam Bam Bigelow,
Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, The Headshrinkers, and Diesel all attacked. Even
with those numbers against him, he managed to put up a good enough fight to
avoid being rolled into the casket. The urn was promptly stolen (as usual
with The Undertaker) and dumped on the floor. Green smoke started rising and
Undertaker's power literally went up in smoke! The heels rolled Undertaker
into his casket and shut the door. But this was far from over.

They rolled Undertaker down the ramp - and as they approached the front, the
TitanTron lit up and Undertaker from inside the casket began to talk. He more
or less said he was dead, but he'd return one day. Then he rose out of the
casket and to the ceiling while everyone watched.

It is one of the sillier things pro wrestling has ever seen and one of the
most embarrassing moments for fans who wanted their sport to be taken more
seriously.

The Rumble itself thankfully was decent - but far from behind able to save
this show. The very first "Diesel push" took place during this edition of the
rumble, with (who else) Diesel. The idea of the "Diesel push" is that every
year more or less, one big guy gets to go on a run of eliminating guys at
rapid fire in order to see if the crowd is willing to respond. In this case
they responded, and in a big way. The fans rallied behind Diesel before he
was eventually dumped by about 8 guys. The match came down to Bret Hart and
Lex Luger - leading to an innovative spot where they were both dumped
simultaneously leaving us with a dual winner. Video replays in slow motion
proved that Bret had actually won the match - but in the end both guys got a
chance to go on to Wrestlemania, with Bret walking away with the World
Heavyweight Title for the second time.

Razor Ramon and IRS faced off for the Intercontinental Title earlier in the
night - leading to a new champion, only to have that decision reversed and
the match restarted, where Ramon managed to retain. In a VERY famous moment,
Bret and Owen Hart faced off against the reigning tag-team champions The
Quebecers for the titles, where an injured Bret refused to tag in Owen at the
end, leading to his leg collapsing and Owen turning on him. This led to
Wrestlemania where the opener saw Owen defeat Bret cleanly in one of the
greatest technical wrestling matches ever showcased. Tatanka defeated Bam Bam
Bigelow with a Flying Bodypress in the opening match.

In 1995, the WWF decided to try something innovative with the Royal Rumble -
speed it up! Unfortunately, this was one of the dumbest ideas the WWF
braintrust had managed to come up with since the aforementioned World Title
showcase between Undertaker and Yokozuna.

60 second intervals were the name of the game. Shawn Michaels and the British
Bulldog drew #1 and #2 to kick things off. Bret Hart spent a great deal of
time attacking big names - which led to his downfall towards the end. Lex
Luger again made the final four, but during a 10 punch sequence on Crush,
Michaels simply shoved him over the top. Shawn and Bulldog actually turned
out to be the final two competitors, and Bulldog eliminated Shawn to win the
match.

Or so he thought.

Shawn, managing to keep one foot off the ground, skinned the cat, and
eliminated Bulldog while he was celebrating. It was an excellent finish to a
far too fast rumble.

The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly shocked a lot of people by winning the WWF World
Tag-Team Titles in the tournament finals against Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka.
As they celebrated, Lawrence Taylor made fun of Bigelow for losing the match.
Bigelow attacked LT and the two brawled before being pulled apart. This was
eventually Wrestlemania's main event, which actually turned out okay - if
being the stupidest pairing for a main event slot in Wrestlemania's history.

Also, Diesel and Bret Hart went to a no contest for the WWF World Heavyweight
Title due to run ins. The match was on par with every other Diesel / Bret
Hart match put on by the WWF, which meant it more or less rocked. IRS took a
loss to The Undertaker before (you guessed it) stealing his urn. The opening
match saw Jeff Jarrett defeat Razor Ramon by countout. But Jarrett didn't
want the win that way, so he called Ramon back to the ring. And in a big
surprise, Jarrett actually got the clean victory after doing so, winning his
first of six Intercontinental championships!

For the first time in years, the Royal Rumble did not get the main event slot
of the 1996 show. Instead, that honor was given to Bret Hart defending the
WWF World Heavyweight Title against The Undertaker. The match itself was
nothing special - though The Undertaker is sporting the mask he wore for a
brief period of time when he had a broken cheekbone. Bret Hart managed to
escape the night with his title when Diesel attacked - setting up In Your
House VI, and eventually Wrestlemania.

The Royal Rumble also helped set up Wrestlemania - with the winner getting
the usual World Title shot reward. Jerry Lawler drew #4 and decided to hide
under the ring, which was one of the smartest moves ever in a Rumble match.
Bob Backlund sets another longevity record here, but not one he's probably
quite proud of - by being the first guy eliminated after the longest stretch
to start a match without an elimination, if you can follow that. To explain
that better, Bob drew #3, and wound up getting tossed by #10 Yokozuna, to be
the first man eliminated. Vader surprised a lot of fans by making his first
appearance in the WWF in this match. HHH went about 50 minutes becoming the
Iron Man of the night. In the end though, Shawn Michaels won his second
Rumble by giving the Sweet Chin Music to Diesel, sending him to Wrestlemania
and eventually grabbing the title from Bret Hart in the 60 minute marathon.

Goldust picked up the Intercontinental Title from Razor Ramon, with a little
help and thanks to the 1-2-3 Kid. The Smokin' Gunns grabbed the WWF World Tag-
Team Titles from The Bodydonnas in a decent little match. Jeff Jarrett got
desperate and smashed his guitar over the head of Ahmed Johnson in the
night's opening match, leading to a disqualification win for Ahmed.

For the second consecutive year, the main event was the World Title matchup
and not the Rumble itself. Shawn Michaels, who lost the World Title just two
months earlier at the Survivor Series to Sid, regained the championship here
the very same way that Sid had won it in the first place - by using a camera
against him. It was a feel good moment to send the fans home happy after
seeing the Rumble. And why would they be upset...?

Steve Austin had just won the Royal Rumble. Austin was loathed by the fans
for being foul mouthed and a bully. During the match he'd started to receive
some cheers due to his longevity and ass kicking ways. However, all of that
was forgotten the minute he was eliminated and he snuck back in to eliminate
The Undertaker, Vader, and Bret Hart in rapid succession. The loss was so
upsetting that Bret Hart quit the WWF the following night, before being
convinced by Gorilla Monsoon to reconsider, being granted a four way match
with the winner going to Wrestlemania at In Your House: Final Four.

Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal, and Fuerza Guerrera were defeated by Pedro
Aguayo, Canek, and Hector Garza according to the results posted online, and
I'll have to go by them - though with the announcers being unable to remember
who was who from minute to minute I had a hard enough time with this match.
It was also brutal, due to the fact these luchadors were all either old, fat,
or both. Vader, using the urn, defeated The Undertaker in fairly clean
fashion. The match was pretty cool for a big man vs. big man affair. Ahmed
Johnson took home his second straight Royal Rumble DQ victory, this time
defeating Faarooq when the NOD got involved. Some poor shmuck from Faarooq's
posse gets powerbombed through a table for his troubles. The opener saw
Hunter Hearst Helmsley hang on to the Intercontinental Title over Goldust.

In 1998 the WWF hit rock bottom. Not just the Royal Rumble - though this
would be the stepping stone for the year to follow. However, fans ate it up
because the WWF was showing a little 'tude. The matches that came from it,
aside from the main event, were pretty much atrocious.

In the main event, Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker once again, this
time with a little help from Kane to retain his WWF World Heavyweight Title.
During the match however, Shawn's back hit the side of the casket which wound
up permanently injuring him and forcing him into retirement two months later.
Kane lights the casket on fire following the match, in order to get back at
the Undertaker for letting him get burned years ago.

The Royal Rumble was more or less a guaranteed Austin win from the get go.
The storyline here is that everyone hated Austin, so they all agreed for the
good of the company to team up and do anything to eliminate him.
Unfortunately, no one could get the job done, and finishing with The Rock,
Austin won the Rumble for a second consecutive year - though it was the worst
Rumble to date.

The New Age Outlaws lost to the Legion Of Doom - but DID hang on to their tag-
team titles by doing it in DQ fashion. The Rock kept his Intercontinental
Title, after placing brass knucks in the tights of Ken Shamrock and letting
the referee find them. Max Mini continued his Goldberg-esque push and scored
the win in a 6-man midget match. Vader took the opening contest over Goldust,
which is probably best not talked about any further than that.

Sportz Entertainment was kicking it into overdrive when the 1999 Royal Rumble
rolled around.

Steve Austin, thanks to Mr. McMahon was awarded the #1 slot. Mr. McMahon,
thanks to Shawn Michaels was awarded #2. What followed was a farce of a
Rumble. Steve Austin and Vince went through the middle ropes and battled back
to the locker room, where Corporation members took out Austin and sent him to
the hospital. When Austin returned later in the show, driving the ambulance,
everyone again tried to take him out with a $100,000 bounty on his head.
Vince meanwhile had taken to doing commentary at ringside. Chyna became the
first woman ever to enter the Royal Rumble - and even eliminated Mark Henry
before becoming a Steve Austin victim. Eventually, the rumble came down to
(you guessed it) Vince McMahon and Steve Austin - and VINCE picked up the
victory when The Rock distracted Steve Austin long enough.

A very famous World Title match also took place on this card. "I Quit" rules
was the name of the game - as The Rock and Mankind went one on one. Mick had
his family at the arena, and in fact you're probably quite familiar with what
transpired if you've seen "Beyond The Mat". Mankind, who would have never
said "I Quit" in ANY situation was locked up with handcuffs and beaten a
dozen times over the head with a steel chair, before a pre-recorded tape
screamed "I QUIT" while Mankind was out cold. His family was literally in
tears at ringside watching him get pummelled like that - and from that point
on Mick Foley promised to tone it down.

Sable retained the WWF Women's Title over Luna. X-Pac defeated Gangrel in a
very good short match to retain the WWF European Title. Ken Shamrock held on
to the WWF Intercontinental Title, defeating Billy Gunn. And the opener saw
The Big Bossman regain the WWF Hardcore Title from The Road Dogg when he hit
the Bossman Slam.

The WWF's steady downfall of Royal Rumble quality came to an abrupt end in
2000. The Royal Rumble was built on a very strong World Title matchup, and
some great heat from The Rock and Big Show in the Rumble itself.

The Rumble started off with a fun spot, by having all three members of Too
Cool in the ring at the same time. However, while dancing, Rikishi sent
Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty flying. Bob Backlund makes a surprise
appearance here, but does nothing worth noting. X-Pac was eliminated by Kane
late in the match - though it was missed and he quickly returned the favor by
eliminating Kane. The Big Show tossed X-Pac leaving him and The Rock. The Big
Show killed Rocky, and started to run him over the rope, but Rocky held on
and dragged Show over, skinning the cat, and winning the Rumble.

Show was furious and over the weeks provided evidence that both of Rocky's
feet hit the ground first. Show was granted a rematch at No Way Out - which
he wound up winning.

Cactus Jack had returned a few weeks earlier to challenge HHH to a World
Title match. This was no ordinary match though. It was going to be a
streetfight with the most famous hardcore wrestler on the planet. The match
went a half hour. When things looked bad for Cactus, including having his
hands cuffed, The Rock made the save. Cactus then kicked out of a Pedigree,
before getting Pedigreed onto some tacks in the ring and beaten. HHH was the
worse of the two though - and barely came out alive. It was an easy *****
match and the best singles match ever showcased at the Rumble.

The New Age Outlaws squashed The Acolytes and held on to the WWF World Tag-
Team Titles. Chris Jericho became the sole possessor of the WWF
Intercontinental Title by pinning Chyna in a match that also featured
Hardcore Holly. Mae Young stripped down to her bare chest and won the Miss
Rumble 2000 contest. The Hardy Boyz defeated The Dudley Boyz in the WWF's
first ever tag-team tables match - where Jeff Hardy hit a spectacular Swanton
Bomb on D-Von Dudley for the victory. Tazz made his debut here in the opening
match, choking out rookie Kurt Angle, and ending that winning streak.

This brings us to one year ago. The Royal Rumble was build up fairly solid
from top to bottom and looked to be a winner. Little did the fans know what
they were in store for.

Drew Carey was the first surprise of the night, being entered into the Royal
Rumble by Vince McMahon. Carey figured wrestling was more or less a joke, and
came in following the Hardy Boyz eliminating one another. Kane followed - and
after refusing Carey's money to leave him alone, Drew hopped out and ran for
cover. A great hardcore sequence followed as the entire division made their
way out, complete with weapons, though no pins on Raven, so he retained his
title. Once Kane finished that gang off, The Honky Tonk Man made a shocking
re-appearance. Kane didn't like that and killed him. The Big Show returned,
and chokeslammed everyone, before being eliminated by Rocky. Show didn't much
appreciate that and chokeslammed Rocky though a table - but through the
middle rope so Rocky was still safe. Kane and Taker then teamed up to beat
the hell out of everyone else who bothered coming in. Steve Austin was beaten
up by HHH and bladed before entering the ring. Rocky was surprisingly
eliminated 28th, leaving Kane and Steve Austin to finish things off. It took
everything from Austin to win the match for a record third time and go to
Wrestlemania once again.

Kurt Angle and HHH, trying to squeeze the life out of their on again, off
again feud, managed to put together the best match they've had to date for
the World Title, which Angle retained after interference on his behalf from
Steve Austin. Chyna's neck went out during her match with Ivory, and Ivory
retained the Women's Title. Chris Benoit and Chirs Jericho went out and
killed eachother in a ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Title that
was highly entertaining and had some incredible visually appealing spots -
including Benoit taking a chairshot square on the head while attempting a
tope. The opener saw the Dudley Boyz claim the WWF World Tag-Team Titles for
the second time by defeating Edge and Christian.

What will 2002 bring us? Surprise returns? Shocking victories? Or just plain
clean fun. Well, this is YOUR chance to decide. Once again, I'm bringing out
the predictions board. Let's see how many I can get wrong this month.
Remember - e-mail me YOUR picks and I'll post the winners sometime next week.